Did you know that today, December 14th, National Monkey Day (the Ikea Monkey would be proud!)?

If you owned the 2013 Cash Flow Calendar, you would!

AND… even better… you would know how to use National Monkey Day in your marketing to pocket some money.=

Marketing in this day and age is about story telling, sharing, collaborating and fun.

People ARE buying… and you can be the one they buy from.

The Ikea Monkey is an example of the viral effect online.

If you are living in a cave, or under a rock, you may not have heard of the Ikea Monkey… yet.

You will though.

Darwin, the Ikea Monkey, was found wandering outside of an Ikea Story in Toronto this past weekend.

The young Ikea Monkey captured worldwide attention after he somehow let himself out of a parked car Sunday and ambled around the Ikea parking lot dressed in a fitted shearling coat.

Darwin The Ikea Monkey was captured, held by animal services, and his owner was fined $240 for having a prohibited animal.

Of course, the internet got ahold of this and the viral sweetness of the net took over and Darwin the Ikea Monkey became an overnight sensation and superstar!

Now, this was not used as a marketing gimmick (but I do wonder if the owner of Darwin has alterior motives and wanted to become an overnight star… albeit for the wrong reason… but a star she still has become. Next are book deals and made-for-tv movies I’m sure).

Even if the Ikea Monkey was an ‘honest mistake’, it still shows what can happen when you find a meme and use it to generate massive publicity online.

Millions of people around the world have read about the Ikea Monkey.

Shirts and bumper stickers, I am sure, WILL be printed.

Why not create your own viral sensations?

Think about it…

Here’s a few random picks from the 2013 Cash Flow Calendar:

December 15 – Cat Herder’s Day

December 18 – National Wear a Plunger on Your Head Day

December 26 – National Whiner’s Day

December 30 – Festival of Enormous Changes at the Last Minute Day

January 2 – Happy Mew Year for Cats Day

January 13 – Rubber Duckie’s Birthday

Now, if you can’t think of ONE way to turn those events into something fun for Facebook, or for a blog post (like this), or for your email newsletter… you need SERIOUS help with your marketing!

These are goldmines for marketing ideas.

Youtube videos.

Articles.

Memes on Facebook.

Tweets.

Product launches.

You name it… you can make it work.

So stop messing around with your marketing and get serious!

The 2013 Cash Flow Calendar is PACKED with over 1,500 ideas like this… plus shows you what and how to turn them into marketing ideas.

The 2013 Cash Flow Calendar and Annual Marketing Plan

If you can’t turn THAT into a killer year of fun-filled promotions… hand up your shingle and move on to a job where you don’t have to think.

Harsh… but true.

I am holding a special offer on the calendar right now for just $36 until December 24th.

And what I love about Tom’s content is that it’s simple,
incredibly practical (zero fluff, zero hype) and yet it’s so
cunningly effective it brings a smile to my face.

Here’s what you’ll discover during the webinar:

* Why you should definitely NOT rely on Word of Mouth marketing
for new clients

* Ten types of lead generation, which ones to avoid (and why)
and which one to start with

* Eight costly but common mistakes to avoid when wanting to get
referrals (this part will save you stress, save you time and save
you wasted effort)

* Tom’s powerfully effective “Godfather” referral strategy that
makes it easy, natural and stress free for you to gain BULK
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* Got staff? How to motivate each team member to get new clients
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* Three specific, step by step referral systems that virtually
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* How to turn a trickle of new clients into a flow

* The #1 all-time critical business commitment you can make that
will significantly improve your business health, your feelings of
security and peace of mind, as well as enhance the quality of
your life

* And Tom’s agreed to stay online at the end of the event for
anyone who wants to learn more about other resources from his
80-20 Center

Best of all, most of Tom’s proven effective referral systems
will cost you not even one dollar to implement.

PS this is a live event and the technology gremlins forbid us
from guaranteeing that a recording will be available so please,
cancel whatever else you have on and get to this event … if you
want a simple system to get new clients then this will probably
be one of the best events to attend in 2012

Can YOU be the first in your city, or industry, that brings out a membership program?

Think it through – it’d be awesome to inspire you to create this.

The second example for today you may have already seen on Facebook.

Budweiser NAILED IT with this viral video.

What a beautiful idea and concept here.

…and Bud is winning over more fans than EVER with this.

It evokes emotion… and may even bring a tear to your eye.

If you have ever felt like you love and activity so much, but know you will never be in the big leagues (due to age, skill level, whatever) then this video will get that emotion factor revved up.

I LOVE my martial arts. Been doing it for 12 years or so off an on, the past 6 years in Tae Kwon Do (training for second degree Black Belt right now)… but I know that my age and size are a factor in competition. Maybe it is more fear than anything, but I haven’t been in one with my TKD. There is a chance coming up this summer… we will see.

But I GET this video.

I would love to be in a competition and feel like a superstar (despite not being close to one).

THAT is the feel Bud gets going with this video.

…and it does 2 things I want to point out: It shares some intimate emotions with their prospects and clients, and it shows them doing something that gives back to the community.

PS: The Story Selling Home Study Coaching program https://www.storysellingtips.com is ready and is an incredible way to introduce your clients and prospects to your backstories… where your real money will be made.

Without a single thought or care about mastering the basics of marketing, they sprint head first following the scent of a shiny new “social media marketing tool”.

Meanwhile…the greatest marketing opportunities are right in front of their eyes.

Here is a perfect example that was sent to me by my friend and fellow marketing consultant, Graham McGregor (who, by the way, has an EXCEPTIONAL free book you can grab at https://www.TheUnfairBusinessAdvantage.com).

======================How they capitalizedon one of the worlds greatest disasters.
======================

Before the naysayers go off on their tangent about capitalizing on disasters… listen in first before you judge.

The Titanic sunk in 1912.

Thousands of lives were lost.

The 100 year anniversary of this disaster is in 2012.

…rather than shying away from the sinking of a cruise liner, the New Zealand Cruise Ship, the MS Balmoral, decided to make the most of it.

2,000 people have pre-booked a cabin for the MD Balmoral voyage that retraces the route of the Titanic’s maiden voyage

Not only are people paying up to $12,100 for passage on this cruise, they are also lining up to “have costumes made to re-create the appearance of the original passengers, while there have also been requests from musicians to audition for places in the modern version of the string quartet that played as the flagship of the White Star Line fleet began to list.”

This Centenial Celebration is gearing up to be a highly enjoyable one for the passengers, and a highly profitable one for the Cruise line.

For example, in January of 2012, here are a few unusual events you could create themed product or services launches around:

* Second week of January is National Pizza Week
* The fourth week is National Mozart week (and Jan 27th is his birthday)
* January 12th is the 36th Anniversary of the passing of Agatha Christie in 1976
* Friday January 13th is not only a Friday the 13th, but is also the Rubber Duckies birthday
* Sunday, January 22nd is National Answer Your Cat’s Question Day… what better reason for a pet-related marketing campaign (pet campaigns can be a BIG draw for contests, competitions, and just fun all-around promotions).

Keep it simple.

Find a special event or date you could really have fun with.

Do some research about the basics of the date or reason for celebration.

Create a 3 step (minimum) campaign that has some fun with the date, tells a great story that ties into that date, then relate the celebration to your special offer.

Send out all 3 steps, each of them having fun and telling a different part of the theme or story-based campaign.

Simple.

In theory… right?

The key is to just do it. Don’t overthink it… massive momentum and action will take you MUCH FURTHER than over analyzing it will!

Just get it done.

Have some fun.

And give your clients and prospects something fun to get excited about too.

It worked for the cruise line… and will work for you too.

Here’s to a fun-filled, promotion and story packed marketing year!

Troy

PS: People often ask if this applies in their country too (assuming they are outside of North America).

Why not?

Even if National Pizza Week is an American thing, or a Canadian thing, so what?

There is no rule book saying you can’t create your own holiday like this.

DECLARE IT!

You don’t need to ask for permission to do a promotion… just get it done!

YES! I Want Troy to show me how to turn my words into wealth!

Who Is Troy D. White?

He is an internationally recognized marketing coach, expert and copywriter, whose focus is on helping entrepreneurs maximize their lead generation and marketing efforts.

Working with entrepreneurs and small business owners from all over the world gives Troy a unique insight into the challenges entrepreneurs are faced with, and the strategies that build their businesses faster.